Chapter 16: Operation Infiltration

"Here's the crutch," Efalno said, handing it to Kevin. "Let's get this in action."

Kevin scanned Efalno's form before having Duo-Cevan perform metronome. Almost immediately, Kevin began transforming. However, the transformation went differently this time. Normally, when he transformed, he only assumed the immediate physical features. This time, however, it was almost as if he had grown a suit of clothes exactly like Efalno's.

Kevin was startled from this action. "Whoa, this has never happened before," he wondered.

"Well, at least it means I won't have to make you borrow my suit," Efalno commented, "The only thing you didn't get in that transformation is something to hide those eyes of yours." He then pulled out his visor and handed it to Kevin. "Here, take this. You will be able to see through it, and it will hide those eyes."

"Wouldn't someone be slightly suspicious if I wore my visor through the whole building?" Kevin asked.

"I always wear my visor through the whole building," Efalno answered. "Even my co-workers know I do. The only time I ever do take it off is in the restrooms, where no one can see me."

For a moment, there was only silence. "You know, you may get in trouble for this," Kevin pointed out.

"If it's for a good cause, I'll take the risk," Efalno declared. "Now you better get going. The vice director wants me back there in 5 minutes. And don't forget, you're supposed to be tired."

"I can do that," Kevin said in a determined tone. "And I'll be sure to get the acting right!"

*                                  *                                  *

Approaching the guards at the front door, Kevin showed the nametag he had somehow transformed with and entered inside. A guard at the door turned and faced Kevin as he walked in. "You be careful going up those stairs with that thing!" he yelled as the door closed.

Kevin glanced around the building under the cover of his visor. It seemed larger than it appeared to be, housing huge plants and many different desks. Everyone was busy doing something, whether it be talking on a phone or doing something at a computer. Looking at the back wall, Kevin found the stairs leading up to the next floor.

Let's see… Kevin thought. Efalno works on the fourth floor…

Kevin turned and headed for the stairs. Almost immediately as he got to them, however, he suddenly heard a voice boom from behind him. "What took you so long?!?" it said.

Kevin faced the voice to find a tall, muscular man standing with a glare fixed in his face. Just by the dress of the man, Kevin took him to be the vice director. "I couldn't find my crutch," Kevin replied in a faked, tired tone.

Apparently, the vice director bought the disguise and the acting. He didn't buy the story, though. "Well, whatever the reason, we've got more paperwork to do," the man said. "Hurry it up, Efalno, or your name's going to be 'mud!'"

Now I see why Efalno hated him, Duo-Cevan said.

No kidding, Kevin replied. Let's just hope we're right.

Kevin did as Efalno advised and didn't make any response to the man. He turned and went up the stairs.

The stairs were certainly a workout for Kevin and his acting. Although he was doing very well in keeping himself from losing balance, twice he had to fight himself from using his "bad leg." Upon reaching the fourth floor, he got off the stairs and into the main office. The office area reminded him much like others, with small walls surrounding working areas.

Ok, I'm on the fourth floor… Efalno's desk isn't in a cubicle work area, Kevin thought, recalling Efalno's instructions. That must mean he…

Kevin's thoughts were then suddenly run over by a louder voice. "Stop right there, Efalno!" it said calmly, yet fiercely.

Kevin turned to face the owner of the voice. In the middle of the main hallway, between the outer wall and the small walls of the cubicles, a man in dark clothing stood among a Machoke, a Flareon, and a Weezing. It was obvious that the man was trouble.

Kevin decided to take a chance and act like an employee. "Excuse me," Kevin began, "But do you have permission to be up here?"

"No," the man said. He grinned. "You know, you're rather brave to confront me like that. All the rest of the employees ran."

"I was afraid of that," Kevin sighed.

"So, are you going to give up now, or do we have to do this the hard way?" The man growled. All three of his Pokémon took a step forward and also growled.

"Hmm…" Kevin said thoughtfully. "This must be a hostage situation. All right, I'll give up." Kevin then immediately lifted up his crutch and threw it at the Rogue. Distracting the man, Kevin took off yelling, "If you can catch me first!"

Ducking under the flying crutch, the man growled. "Patrael," the man radioed in, "Efalno's twisted leg was apparently a hoax. I'm going to need more guards here to stop him without causing damage to the floor!"

"Bother, I was afraid of that," The radio blurted, loud enough for Kevin to hear. "Fifth floor Rogue units 1, 2, and 3… Report your status and approach the fourth floor. Any units still on the fourth floor: seal off all exits. We can't let any of the employees warn what is going on outside!"

Well, at least they bought the disguise, Duo-Cevan commented.

Kevin had gone into the area of the cubicles and hid under one of the desks. If anything, he hoped that it would delay what was going to happen with their plans. After watching two Rogues pass by his location, Kevin huddled deeper into the desk without a noise. What am I doing? I'm too vulnerable in this form…

Kevin suddenly heard one of the guards shouting. "Move from the area!" it commanded. "Seal the openings of the door to the stairs. And put on your masks!"

Masks?

For a moment, Kevin heard nothing. Waiting for something to happen, Kevin heard a noise that sounded like a gas pipe bursting. A noticeable purple smoke began floating everywhere.

Kevin stared in alarm. Smog! both Kevin and Duo-Cevan shouted. Kevin pulled the shirt portion of his suit over his mouth, but to no avail. The poisonous fumes began to make Kevin's eyes water and irritate his throat. Feeling a pain in his side, his fear was confirmed. He was poisoned.

Guess we have no other choice, Kevin said. This body isn't made for fighting battles.

Don't even think of making us transform, Duo-Cevan said in a fierce tone. The poison would remain even if our form changed, and if we did transform, it would be worse than toxic!

Good point, so what do we do? Kevin wondered.

Kevin's involuntary actions gave away the answer. His current form couldn't handle the smog, and he eventually began coughing. Blinded by the smoke, he attempted to get up and begin running, only to bang his head on the desk, giving away his location.

"Go!" a guard yelled. The rest of the guards charged in on Kevin's position.

Can't… see… Kevin thought. Ahh, to be human again…

Kevin sat in pain both from the poison and from the injury in his panic. He suddenly felt a hand as it wrapped something around his face underneath his visor. It acted like a pump at first, pushing out the smog from the interior, and then began filtering the entering air as Kevin breathed.

"Well, at least now you can say you didn't get captured without honor," one of the Rogues said. "So will you come peacefully, or do we have to knock you out first?"

"I'll… I'll go peacefully," Kevin said.

"Good," The guard said, picking up Kevin by the collar and pulled him from the ground. "For a moment there I thought you were going to try being some one-man army. You two, escort Efalno here to the others. You others from the fifth floor, let's air out this room."

The Rogue's radio began making noise. "Kae, What's going on?" it blurted. "Why are you taking so long to get Efalno?"

The man who gave the orders pulled out his radio. "We just got him," he said. "Unfortunately, we had to gas him out with smog. We're now getting out a chemical to clear out the smoke."

"Did he actually come peacefully the second time you found him, or did he resist?"

"Efalno's brave, but he isn't stupid," Kae replied. "Weezing's Smog really hit him hard. He knew he couldn't fight anymore."

"Good," the radio said. "Get him with the rest of the hostages on that floor. Make sure they are all safe; we can't make terms if they are hurt in any way. As for the smog, proceed with the chemical. We'll move to the next phase within the next hour."

"Yes, sir," Kae answered before turning off the radio. He then turned to Kevin and the two guards. "Take him to the other hostages. Once that is done, Mackanel will watch the hostages and Bronine and I will patrol this floor after the smog is cleared. Understood?"

"Ten-four, captain!" the two men said. They then escorted Kevin to one of the back rooms. Opening the door, they pushed Kevin through it and into other employees.

"Here," Mackanel said, quickly lifting the mask and shoving a spoonful of fluid into Kevin's mouth, forcing him to swallow it before letting the mask back down. "I don't know why I have to waste this antidote on you, but I guess that's what happens when you resist."

"Thanks, I guess," Kevin said, cringing. The fluid was the nastiest thing Kevin had ever tasted.

Mackanel laughed when he saw Kevin's involuntary mouth reaction. "Glad to see you liked it. The old woman down in the Underground Path made it for me from herbs. Certainly doesn't taste good, but you'll be glad I even gave it to you."

Kevin stared for a moment through the visor at the man, wondering. A minute later, Kevin felt the stabbing pain in his side start to fade. Looking down at his hands, he saw the color returning to them. The taste was still strong in his mouth, though.

"Can I get a drink of water?" Kevin wondered.

"Only if it's to quench your thirst," the Rogue replied. "It won't help the taste go away. You'll just have to suffer for the next… oh, three hours."

Kevin wandered past the rest of the hostages to the back of the room and leaned against the wall on his shoulder. "Man," he said in disgust, "This is worse than eating poisonous mushrooms!"

"Hey, Efalno!" a man said, walking up to him. "They got you too?"

"Yeah, but I resisted," Kevin replied.

"Quiet!!" the Rogue yelled from the front of the room.

After a moment of silence, Kevin and the man began whispering. "So how'd you resist?" the man asked Kevin.

"I hid in the cubicle area, under a desk," Kevin answered. "They finally had to gas me out with smog. They certainly are blind!"

"Didn't you hurt your leg? How'd you get away?"

"I faked it," Kevin replied. "My leg wasn't at all hurt."

"Faked it? You fell down an entire flight of stairs!" the man whispered in a curious tone. "You call that 'faking?'"

 "It was to get away from the vice director," Kevin sighed. "Now that this is occurring, I'm thinking he was the one behind this secret operation."

"Whoa! Are you saying some huge conspiracy has been going on behind our backs and no one even knows of it save for us hostages?" the man wondered with gaping eyes.

"Actually, there are two going on," Kevin replied.

"Two? All right, Efalno, how long have you known about this?" the man wondered with a glare now in his eyes. "Come on, just spill the beans."

Kevin looked around a bit before continuing the conversation. "Ok, the guard can't see us past all the people in here, and no one's looking. First off, I'm not Efalno. I'm someone else impersonating him."

"What did you say?" the man said, accidentally rising his voice.

Kevin played along to hide what was going on. "I said that was the strangest joke you ever pulled!" he said, raising his voice.

"Shut up back there, will ya?!?" the Rogue yelled.

After all the commotion had settled, Kevin and the man went back to their secretive whispering. "What was that all about?" the man wondered.

"To cover up what we're talking about," Kevin replied. "Now listen up. I'm a trained elite Scyther-warrior, sent by another. I ran into Efalno on my way here and disguised myself as him."

The man only stared in bewilderment. "You're kidding," he finally said.

Kevin lifted up his visor only enough for the man to see his eyes before pulling it back down again. "I'm not kidding," Kevin remarked with a grin.

"Well, now I'm convinced," the man replied.

Kevin looked over to the crowd of remaining hostages and noticed that they were starting to clear up between them and the guard. "Quick! Let's do rock, paper, scissors!" Kevin whispered with urgency to the man beside him.

The rogue looked up to see two men swinging their fist and seeming to be pointing fingers. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!?"

"What does it look like?" the man beside Kevin responded. "We're playing 'rock, paper, scissors.'"

The Rogue seemed puzzled. "What the heck is 'rock, paper, scissors?'" he asked in a fierce tone.

Kevin and the man looked at each other. Kevin did a small grin and did a very slight nod before he proceeded. "Well, it's fairly simple to explain," Kevin answered, walking up to the guard. "It's a simple game of one thing beating another."

Kevin began to signal what each hand motion was. "A flattened hand represents paper," he explained. "Paper always beats rock but looses to scissors." Kevin then closed his hand and pointed out two fingers. "Scissors beats paper but looses to rock." Kevin then closed his hand into a fist. "And finally, rock looses to paper, but beats…"

With all his might, Kevin swung his closed fist at the unsuspecting Rogue. Kevin's random swing was, oddly, enough to knock the Rogue out cold.

"…Scissors and Rogues!" Kevin finished.

All the hostages stared at him. A woman near the back was the first to speak. "I've never known you to be the aggressive type, Efalno," she wondered.

Kevin laughed. "Anyone who didn't know of the simple game 'rock, paper, scissors' deserves to be taken down by the rock!" he said with a grin. He then gave a slight pose.

All the hostages gave out a nervous laugh.